


And That Fucking Kid

by mutents



Category: The Nice Guys (2016)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Father Figures, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 08:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10827468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mutents/pseuds/mutents
Summary: "Why are boys such pieces of shit?" Holly finally asked, stopping her pacing and focusing completely on Jack.





	And That Fucking Kid

As soon as Holly arrived home, she went straight to her bedroom. She didn't bother throwing a 'hi' to her father and Uncle Jack where they sat on the couch, looking over the financials of the man they were trying to track down. No, with a narrow minded focus, she walked straight to her room, with her head down to hide the sheen that covered her eyes. She slammed the door shut behind her, flinging her backpack against the wall and tossing herself onto her bed, letting out a scream into her pillow.

She wasn't particularly surprised when she heard a knock on the door a few seconds later.

"Holly, sweetheart," she heard her father ask after a couple of tentative knocks at her door. "Is... uh, is everything alright?"

"Go away," she shouted, her face still buried into her pillow.

After a minute or two of silence, or relative silence - she could easily make out the sound of her father and Uncle Jack muttering heatedly on the other side of the door - her father knocked again. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I never want to talk again..." she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Do you want me to go get Aunt Judy?" Her father asked. 'Aunt' Judy wasn't really her aunt, no more than Uncle Jack was her uncle. Judy was a neighbor who had moved in a few months after they had, and had found increasingly flimsy reasons to come over and talk to Holly's father. Holly had realized the first time she'd witnessed their interactions that it was because 'Aunt' Judy wanted to become 'Mommy' Judy. Even Jack had noticed it, becoming increasingly annoyed with the women. Somehow, Holly's father had remained completely oblivious to it all.

That fact didn't surprise Holly or Jack at all.

"No! I don't want to talk about it!" Holly said, rolling her eyes and slumping down into her pillow again.

"Holly, if you don't agree to talk to someone, I'm going to take this door of it's hinges."

Holly could tell her dad was getting increasingly anxious. He only ever threatened that when he was really worried about her. For a few moments, Holly considered her options.

"Can I talk to Uncle Jack?" She finally asked, hating how small her voice sounded.

There was another couple of minutes of scuffling before she finally heard a quiet knock at the door.

"Uh, Holly... Your dad said you wanted to talk to me?"

Scrambling from her bed, Holly headed over to the door and turned the lock, opening the door so that Jack could come in. As soon as he had finished crossing the threshold, she threw the door shut again, locking it immediately.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" Jack asked, and Holly wanted to smile at the look on his face; it was obvious that he was trying very hard not to look concerned, but he was failing completely.

Holly pointed to her bed, hoping he would take the hint and sit down. Taking the hint, Jack settled awkwardly onto the small bed. As he shifted around, getting comfortable, Holly began to pace in front of him. For several minutes, it stayed that way - Jack watching as the young girl tried to wear a path into the carpet.

"Why are boys such pieces of shit?" Holly finally asked, stopping her pacing and focusing completely on Jack.

She watched as he sat up straighter, a serious look crossing his face and his eyes turning stormy. "What happened?" He asked, his voice sharp.

Holly turned to settle onto the bed next to him, lying down so that her legs dangled of the side. "Last Friday this boy in my class, Johnny, kissed me after class. And I spent the entire weekend thinking about it, you know? Going over it over and over again. But, when I went to talk to him about it this morning before school started, I saw him kissing this other girl in the grade above us. Her names Heather, and she's really pretty, and she's got breasts and already had sex with her last boyfriend, and they'd only been dating for three weeks! And, then, he saw that I saw what they were doing, and he just smirked at me?" When Uncle Jack didn't immediately reply, Holly switched her attention from the white ceiling to the side of his face. She was surprised to see that he was obviously seething in anger. Sitting up, she tapped him on the shoulder. "Uncle Jack?"

The immediate response was what Holly could only describe as a broken chuckle. "You know, when your dad and I were working on the Mountain's case, he made a comment about the boys today. At the time I just ignored it." He turned a little and looked down at Holly. "Now, though... I understand it now.

"I can't tell you why boys are like that, Holly. I can tell you, though, that the good one's aren't like that. And, there are good ones. Admittedly, they're a hell of a lot harder to find. For each ten bad ones, there might be a good one. Maybe. I mean, look at the scum your father and I deal with on a day to day basis. None of them are even close to good guys. And, yeah, that might seem like absolutely shit odds. You'd be right. They are. But, there's going to be someone out there who treats you how you deserve to be treated - like the amazing girl you are. And for the rest of the pieces of shit that are kicking around, there are the Heather's of the world." Jack snorted before continuing. "And trust me when I tell you that there are just as many Heather's in the world as there are Johnny's."

Holly was surprised to realize that her cheeks had gotten wet as Uncle Jack had talked. Swiping furiously at them, she gave up after a few seconds, and threw her arms around her father's friend, squeezing him in a tight hug and letting out an audible sob. After a few more moments, she felt Uncle Jack wrap his own arms around her, giving her a hug in return.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Holland asked as soon as Jack stepped back out of Holly's room, his hair standing on end from where Jack knew he'd been pulling at it. "Is she okay? What happened? Did she... Did she get hurt?"

Jack couldn't help but feel very conscious of the large wet spot on his shoulder where Holly had spent the last ten minutes crying into. Giving Holland what he hoped was a reassuring smile, Jack moved to settle onto the couch again. "She had some... trouble with a boy at school. Some kid named Johnny got her hopes up only to turn out to be a little shit."

Jack rolled his eyes as he watched Holland dart for the cookie jar. Before the younger man could grab the gun that was tucked in there, Jack had crossed the room and put his hand on Holland's shoulder. "It's fine, March. I talked to her."

Holland slumped, letting the gun clatter back to the bottom of the jar. "God," Holland muttered, "I was so fucking terrified..." He didn't finish that sentence, not wanting to put the awful thoughts that filled his brain into words, worried that they'd become true if he gave them substance.

"I know," Jack said in return, wrapping his arm around Holland's shoulder and steering him to the couch. "I was scared to."

And that was the problem with their line of work. They got so used to seeing the worst of society, that they almost always jumped immediately to the worst possible option available. It didn't always end up being the actual answer, but it was still the first one they went to, for better or for worse.

"I just don't understand why she wanted to talk to me," Jack murmured, looking down at his hands.

"Haven't you realized...?" Holland asked, trailing off as he realized that Jack honestly hadn't realized. "She trusts you, Jack. Hell, she  _loves_ you, Jack. You're like her guardian angel." Jack gave Holland a confused look. "You're like her own personal bear. You'll wipe the floor with any idiot who tries to hurt her - hell, you've done it in the past. But, when she needs someone solid, she's going to go to you. For better or for worse, you're a hell of a more reliable father then I ever have been."

Jack couldn't help but feel awkward at Holland's words. He'd never imagined he'd be viewed as a father. Even if he might have wanted kids, June had made it very obvious from the beginning that that would not be happening. Ever.

And yet, here he was, divorced and living in the guest bedroom of a guy who's arm he'd broken and who's daughter had, for some fucking reason, grown attached to him. None of the March's made any god damn sense.

But, that didn't mean he loved them any less.


End file.
